PSA: Colonoscopies!

[shh]

Here's another tip - if anyone is prone to gagging/vomiting, ask your doc for an anti-nausea RX ahead of time - before you leave their office. Otherwise, if you can't keep the prep down, you may not be able to empty your system properly and won't be able to get the procedure as scheduled. Take it as a precaution - it won't hurt you if you don't need it.

 

[Love Ft Wilderness]

Next month is my 3rd one due to personal history.

My gastro gave me the option of liquid or pill prep. This time I'm going to try the pills. You take 12 pills with 16 oz water plus more water over a certain time period. Then again for the 2nd round. First time doing this so I'm hoping for better tolerance than that liquid prep.

I'm allowed some Jell-O along with broth and clear liquids. Each time I write down notes of my experience so that I can make it more "comfortable" for me (as much as you can be). Hoping for good results this time.

 

[TB'sWidow]

My insurance didn’t cover the tablets either, but they were $40 out of pocket. Totally worth it.

For me they were $194 couldn’t pay that at the time

 

[TLSnell1981]

I don't mind the drinking, it the nasty stuff you have to drink. Last time , after second dose I threw up. I'd rather take a pill with a glass of liquid every 30 mins for 4 hours than drink that stuff.

There was another thread here where people mentioned about 6 different preps that were being used depending on the Dr.

Yeah it makes me sick too.

 

[Owlpost23]

Another good idea is to get a bidet attachment for your toilete.Makes things a lot easier,especially with colonoscopy prep.

 

[bluezy]

@MrsPete

The low volume prep is called Suprep

It's two 6oz bottles of prep liquid that you drink straight, followed by 2 more 16oz cups of water afterwards, but you get an hour to get that water down, so it's pretty easy.

This is what I was given when I had a diagnostic colonoscopy 5 years ago.

The liquid does NOT taste good. It's supposed to be "lemon lime" flavor, but it has quite a sickening, salty sweet flavor. I chilled mine and chugged it, and ended each bottle with a strong gag that almost brought it back up, but I followed the advice of the nurse and chased it with a few sips of ginger ale IMMEDIATELY to get the taste out of my mouth. The fizz from the soda sort of confuses your nervous system and stops the gag reflex. Neat trick.

Anyway, I found this prep made me "go" quite quickly and fully, without any discomfort, nor was I in the bathroom for hours. Literally 2 quick trips and that was it. One more trip the next morning after the second bottle, and that was all just clear liqiud at that point. It was not what I expected based on what I'd heard.

I'd request this prep again.

I had Suprep for my first 2 colonoscopies and I found it to be quite tolerable and easy to do. Far easier than what friends and family members had been describing for their experiences with other prep methods. For my most recent one, the doctor gave me Clenpiq which I found even easier. It's cranberry flavored (I prefer the lemon-lime, but I know that most people don't like that) and it's a 5.4 oz. bottle. I sucked on an ice cube (to numb my tongue a bit), drank it through a straw (to avoid hitting too many taste buds), and held my breath while drinking (again to avoid tasting too much). I had to drink at least 48 oz of clear liquids over the next 6 hours so I always had a glass of something ready to drink as a chaser. The amount of time I spent in the bathroom was even less with this prep than with the Suprep. I could have any type of clear liquid (anything you can see through when held up to light -- soda, tea, pulp free fruit juice, etc.) along with broths, jello, popsicles (with no fruit of course), and Italian ice. Just nothing Red or Purple. I really found the prep to be quite easy. Annoying, yes, but not difficult. I realize not everyone's doctor uses this prep method. I would literally be calling around to find a doctor who used either Suprep or Clenpiq (or maybe the pills -- but I have no experience with those) as a prep method rather than something that has you drinking huge amounts of the prep liquid. And a nurse at the office when I was scheduling my first colonoscopy suggested following a low-fiber diet for 3-5 days before the fasting day and that made the whole clean out process pretty easy. There are far worse things to go through (for most people) than colonoscopy prep.

 

[Skippy918]

For me they were $194 couldn’t pay that at the time

I wonder why it varies so much?

 

[MrsPete]

... The low volume prep is called Suprep

It's two 6oz bottles of prep liquid that you drink straight, followed by 2 more 16oz cups of water afterwards, but you get an hour to get that water down, so it's pretty easy ... The liquid does NOT taste good. It's supposed to be "lemon lime" flavor, but it has quite a sickening, salty sweet flavor ...

Most interesting. I see the appeal in drinking less, even if it tastes worse.

The Go-Litely I have had is -- I think -- also lemon-lime, which I dislike -- I will not touch Sprite. "Salty sweet" is a good descriptor. Doesn't taste good, but also not impossible to get down.

I'm interested in the idea of ginger ale.

... The procedure is also NOTHING for most people ...

Totally! Once you're on the table, your work is done -- you're just sleeping. And recovery is limited to a bit of grogginess and the need for a ride home.

Saying the obvious: Doing the prep CORRECTLY is essential. If you use half-measures and don't, um, "clear yourself out well", the doctor can't do the procedure -- everyone loses.

Here's another tip - if anyone is prone to gagging/vomiting, ask your doc for an anti-nausea RX ahead of time - before you leave their office. Otherwise, if you can't keep the prep down, you may not be able to empty your system properly and won't be able to get the procedure as scheduled. Take it as a precaution - it won't hurt you if you don't need it.

Not something I personally need, but could be very useful for other people.

Next month is my 3rd one due to personal history.

My gastro gave me the option of liquid or pill prep. This time I'm going to try the pills. You take 12 pills with 16 oz water plus more water over a certain time period. Then again for the 2nd round. First time doing this so I'm hoping for better tolerance than that liquid prep.

I'm allowed some Jell-O along with broth and clear liquids. Each time I write down notes of my experience so that I can make it more "comfortable" for me (as much as you can be). Hoping for good results this time.

Please read about the pills and the potential for kidney damage.
Here's a website: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=4521455&page=1
And a quote from that website:
Khurana and his team found that its use was associated with a 6 percent drop in kidney function six months later; that figure rose to 8 percent one year later. This magnitude of loss of kidney function is significant," said Khurana.

Yes to Jello -- it's in the same category as the gummy bears. Just remember that only "non colors" are allowed.

For me they were $194 couldn’t pay that at the time

I wouldn't pay it -- I didn't enjoy the basic stuff, but it worked fine. I wouldn't see the value in paying almost $200.

... I sucked oongue a bit), drank it through a straw (to avoid hitting too many taste buds) ... and Italian ice. Just nothing Red or Purple. I really found the prep to be quite easy. Annoying, yes, but not difficult ... And a nurse at the office when I was scheduling my first colonoscopy suggested following a low-fiber diet for 3-5 days before the fasting day and that made the whole clean out process pretty easy ...

An ice cube -- what a good idea! It's an extension of my "chill everything" method.
Yes to lemon Italian Ice! Another good idea.
I agree with your term "annoying but not difficult".
Yes to the low-fiber diet. I also heard it called low-residue diet.

 

[Skippyboo]

I had my first colonoscopy today. Only one polyp so hopefully that comes back okay. I did the low fiber diet for Friday and Saturday, Sunday was liquid only. I made my jello too late in the day and didn’t set by the time I had to drink the 1/2 gallon Gatorade mixer w bottled of polypropylene glycol powder added. Got a bit nauseous towards the end of drinking all that liquid. Got a little lightheaded after the 4am bathroom stop and tripped into bedroom nightstand, broke the lamp on it. Today was a piece of cake after last night. Didn’t feel loopy afterwards.

 

[aprilgail]

As I sit here trying to ingest my second 32 ounces of colonoscopy prep (yum yum) I thought I'd remind everyone to go get your screening colonoscopy. The recommended age has been lowered to 45, and it should be covered 100% under most insurance. Apparently they're finding incidences of colon cancer in younger folks to be on the rise. The prep isn't fun, but it's only once a decade, if all goes well.

At least I had to be up early anyway to book dining reservations.

OMG I am so glad my DR stopped that kind of prep more than a decade ago! Now it is a couple pills, cup of water and good to go! Prep is so much easier nowdays than 10 years ago- though some Dr's are stuck in the "old days"

 

[nw6675]

Adding to my previous post and the PSA:

Had an endoscopy and colonoscopy today. I'm 47. They found several issues with my stomach and intestines, two requiring separate surgeries. One issue of particular concern.

DO NOT PUT THIS OFF!!!!

 

[sheilafri]

Not all pre-colonoscopy preps are the same. Ask your doctor about alternatives. My last prep I had to drink much less prep fluid and it didn’t taste as bad. Sorry I can’t remember what it was.

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

Adding to my previous post and the PSA:

Had an endoscopy and colonoscopy today. I'm 47. They found several issues with my stomach and intestines, two requiring separate surgeries. One issue of particular concern.

DO NOT PUT THIS OFF!!!!

I wanted to wish you well with the upcoming surgeries and thank you for the PSA post.

A routine colonoscopy that my father-in-law had done 30 years ago, when he was in his mid-50s, revealed cancer. He had surgery and was then cancer-free. That colonoscopy saved his life as he had no other symptoms.

 

[BayouQueen]

I successfully got through this procedure this week. I'd share that I found this Ensure Pre-Surgery drink and it was really helpful -- filled me up and kept my energy up.
I apologize if someone else has already mentioned it.

https://www.amazon.com/Ensure-Pre-S...1678979971&sprefix=ensure+pres,aps,306&sr=8-2

 

[Love Ft Wilderness]

Completed my procedure this week. I just wanted to share my experience with SUTAB prep. I did a low fiber diet about 2 days before and found the SUTAB much easier to tolerate. The exception for me was that it took 5 hours before it kicked in. I had a bit of bloating and discomfort, but once it got going it wasn't nearly as bad as the liquid prep. I also found some electrolyte drinks that seemed to really help with the fluid loss.

I told the nursing staff at the hospital about how much better I preferred the SUTAB. They said that it seemed about a 50/50 split in preference among their patients.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I had to take my father to get this procedure done last week... honestly, I think it was much harder on me than it was him.

 

[bookgirl]

Next month is my 3rd one due to personal history.

My gastro gave me the option of liquid or pill prep. This time I'm going to try the pills. You take 12 pills with 16 oz water plus more water over a certain time period. Then again for the 2nd round. First time doing this so I'm hoping for better tolerance than that liquid prep.

I'm allowed some Jell-O along with broth and clear liquids. Each time I write down notes of my experience so that I can make it more "comfortable" for me (as much as you can be). Hoping for good results this time.

Oops just saw this already happened. Glad you tolerated it better.

Ask your doctor about white grape juice. Sometimes having some calories to work off of will help you not feel so drained. Yellow Gatorade will help too.

 

[kymom99]

Mine is Monday. Tomorrow is the fun. I’ll be using Suprep.

 

[Skippy918]

Gummy candy is an option too as long as it’s not red or purple.

 

[chrisney]

Next month is my 3rd one due to personal history.

My gastro gave me the option of liquid or pill prep. This time I'm going to try the pills. You take 12 pills with 16 oz water plus more water over a certain time period. Then again for the 2nd round. First time doing this so I'm hoping for better tolerance than that liquid prep.

I'm allowed some Jell-O along with broth and clear liquids. Each time I write down notes of my experience so that I can make it more "comfortable" for me (as much as you can be). Hoping for good results this time.

I was unable to finish preps prior to the pills no matter how i tried Whenever a colonoscopy was suggested (I have severe Crohns) I started crying (this from a person who was had a bone marrow biopsy in the doctors office). Did the pills last time, and the doctor jokingly asked if he'd come to the wrong room by mistake! SO MUCH EASIER!!!!!!! I'm certainly not looking forward to May, but it's not keeping me up at night. Oh, there's more liquid than you indicated...at least anoter 16 if not 32 oz. ina several hour period, but I'm even allowed Coke!